GREETINGS FROM PASTOR STEVE
As I reflect on the last five months of serving Pleasant View United Methodist Church, my heart is full. We have accomplished so much together in such a short time and evidence of God’s grace and goodness is all around. There is so much to be grateful for and I pray that each of you are excited and hopeful about what’s next.
When I arrived at the end of June, we were in rough shape. We lost so many good friends and church family in the disaffiliation fight. Church attendance and giving was at historically low levels and these unprecedented times in the UMC led many of us to wonder if this was the end for PVUMC. We persevered, but more importantly we healed and we listened. When I got here, those in church leadership referred to our situation as a rose bush that was cut down to the bulb. When a rose bush grows too many branches and gets in an untenable way it stops producing flowers. In many ways, our crisis forced us to look deeply at ourselves, to address some of the dysfunctions and fruitless endeavors that were spreading us thin and causing conflict. I am thankful for the honest and vulnerable work so many of you have done to grow not only as church leaders but as followers of Christ. To witness God doing something new and redemptive has been an incredibly heartening thing to be apart of and I’m thankful for the fellowship.
Moving forward we are going to continue offering the healing and redemptive power of small groups to our church members and the community. We are going to continue and grow our mission to feed Cheatham County children and their families through our FUEL program. With our newly opened counseling center, we are going to explore more ways to offer mental and spiritual health services to the community.
Many of you have asked about our current financial state after going through such a tumultuous and uncertain season. The good news is, as our Finance Chair, Beth Bostwick has stated, all of our bills have been paid. However, there is still more work to be done. Please see the letter from Beth Bostwick pasted below:
-Rev. Steve Lefebvre, Pastor
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FINANCE UPDATE
If we look at the numbers only, we could say this year has been a struggle. However, when we look at what we have accomplished with God’s help it has been an outstanding year, maybe the best one in the last 10 years.
All bills have been paid. The number of children provided FUEL bags has increased by 33% to 83 bags per week. We received outside goods and monetary donations with an estimated value of over $7,000 dollars to help fund our food ministry and our application for Second Harvest has been approved. This does not include any estimates for the food collected by the Boy Scouts and Good Pasture School. We will be providing food boxes to feed at least 30 families for Christmas, packed with canned and perishable goods.
For the month of December, if our offering collections are $12,000, we will finish the year meeting our revised offering estimate. This is $2,500 more than our normal monthly offering collections.
For 2024, our operating budget (salaries, utilities, maintenance, etc.) has a deficit of $2,200 per month or $26,000 for the year. We have a separate budget for missions, and we expect to raise any money needed for missions from outside sources, including fundraisers. Our partnership with Second Harvest will help reduce the price of the food for the various food ministries. Full budgets are available in the hallway leading to the fellowship hall.
-Beth Bostwick, Finance Chair
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LETTER FROM THE COATES
There is much to think about as I reflect on the events of 2023, both around the world and in our church. One of the realities of conflict is the cost to all involved, physically, spiritually, emotionally, and financially.
What gives me hope as we emerge from the struggles our church has experienced recently is the resilience, faith, and commitment of our church family. Like any family experiencing conflict, there will be difficult decisions and emotional trauma, but there will also be great potential for growth and renewed vision. I am excited to be part of what God has done and is doing in this family of faith. Pleasant View UMC continues to be a beacon to the community and help those in need.
We also need to take care of family. Like every family, our church family must provide for its basic needs. When the family comes home, the “house” needs lights, water, heat, and all the other things that meet the physical needs of those within. We also want to be able to bring guests to our “house” where they feel welcome in every way, and we must provide for those who take care of us and our “house.”
Jack and I are committed to digging deeper financially to help not only continue the mission efforts of this amazing church family, but also to provide for those basic needs that assure our “house” and our caregivers are ready to help us live out our new vision of who we are and who God wants us to be. I hope you will join us as we prepare for a new year.
-Carol and Jack Coats
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ONLINE GIVING
On this Giving Tuesday, please consider making a donation to Pleasant View United Methodist Church. One convenient way you can give is by clicking this link and giving through PayPal.